The Oil Drum | Drumbeat: June 1, 2011 http://www.theoildrum.com/node/7988 Drumbeat: June 1, 2011 Posted by Leanan on June 1, 2011 - 10:34am Scary signs for jobs A variety of one-time factors, including high oil prices earlier this year, Japan's earthquake and nuclear crisis, and severe weather including flooding and tornadoes in the South, have all taken their toll on American employers. Add government layoffs to the mix, and the picture looks even worse. As federal stimulus dollars have petered out, state and local governments have cut jobs for six months straight. That said, economists were still not expecting this much weakness. Oil Falls the Most in Three Weeks on Report That U.S. Employers Cut Hiring Crude oil dropped the most in three weeks after data showed that U.S. companies added fewer jobs than forecast last month and the expansion of manufacturing slowed, bolstering concern fuel demand growth will weaken. Higher oil price prompts increased drilling Higher-than-expected oil and gas drilling activity in western Canada led the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors Wednesday to increase its forecast for the total number of wells to be drilled in 2011. It now expects the total to be 13,128, an increase of some 1,300, or 11 per cent over the 11,811 wells it anticipated in its project released in October. Philippines protests to China over oil rig plan The Philippines said Wednesday it had formally protested to Beijing over recent activity in disputed waters of the South China Sea and Chinese plans to anchor an oil rig there. Venezuela will keep sending oil to the United States Page 1 of 21 Generated on July 24, 2011 at 3:22pm EDT The Oil Drum | Drumbeat: June 1, 2011 http://www.theoildrum.com/node/7988 The Minister of Energy and Petroleum of Venezuela, Rafael Ramirez, said today that his country will continue to send the 1.2 million barrels daily sold to the United States after that country announced sanctions against the Venezuelan state oil company (PDVSA). "We are serious and we will continue sending this quantity, but the question is: Are they going to do damage to us with their measures to be able to guarantee the shipment of oil? It's something that we are going to determine, the Venezuelans and not the Americans," Ramirez said in a televised speech. Hopes fade for peaceful Arab transition to democracy Nearly four months ago, longtime Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak finally yielded to political reality and stepped down from power. Mubarak's fall -- coming on the heels of the ouster of neighboring Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali -- was seen by many as part of a domino effect. The Arab world, it seemed, was finally on the brink of a peaceful democratic transition that had eluded the troubled region for generations. Today, however, the promise of a peaceful Arab Spring appears to be yielding to the reality of a long, violent summer as dictators across the Middle East and North Africa draw a line in the sand and fight to maintain control of their countries. Breaking down Middle East and North Africa unrest, country by country Countries in the Middle East and North Africa have been swept up in protests against longtime rulers since the January revolt that ousted Tunisian strongman Zine El Abedine Ben Ali. In many cases, these demonstrations and movements have been met with brute force and escalated into seemingly unending violence. We take a look at what's next for the 'Arab Spring' and look at the latest developments from each country and information on the roots of the unrest. Report: Syrian abuses could be 'crimes against humanity' (CNN) -- The Syrian regime has carried out a "systematic" series of abuses against protesters that could "qualify as crimes against humanity," and the United Nations must hold the government accountable, a leading humanitarian watchdog organization said Wednesday. Human Rights Watch makes these assertions in a report titled "'We've Never Seen Such Horror': Crimes against Humanity in Daraa." Page 2 of 21 Generated on July 24, 2011 at 3:22pm EDT The Oil Drum | Drumbeat: June 1, 2011 http://www.theoildrum.com/node/7988 Source: Missiles strike at Yemeni defectors' compound Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- Four missiles struck a compound where generals who defected from the Yemeni regime were meeting, a spokesman for the defected generals said Wednesday. U.N. atomic watchdog seen raising pressure on Iran (Reuters) - The U.N. atomic agency is voicing growing concern about possible military aspects of Iran's nuclear programme and Western envoys believe it may firm up its suspicions later this year, adding to pressure on Tehran. Farm boom missing Main Street Most farmers no longer buy cars, clothes and farm equipment in towns near them, local bankers and rural economists say. Most young people who leave for college don't move back. Like most small towns across the Midwest, Guthrie Center's population — 1,569 according to Census figures — is shrinking and getting older. Your Commute Is Killing You This week, researchers at Umea University in Sweden released a startling finding: Couples in which one partner commutes for longer than 45 minutes are 40 percent likelier to divorce. The Swedes could not say why. Perhaps long-distance commuters tend to be poorer or less educated, both conditions that make divorce more common. Perhaps long transit times exacerbate corrosive marital inequalities, with one partner overburdened by child care and the other overburdened by work. But perhaps the Swedes are just telling us something we all already know, which is that commuting is bad for you. Awful, in fact. OPEC seen ignoring West's call to act (Reuters) - OPEC is unlikely to bow to western pressure to officially raise oil output at its meeting next week, with members instead expected to act independently of the group, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday. All 13 oil analysts and traders surveyed by Reuters predicted the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would roll over its current output agreement, untouched since the group's record cut in December 2008. "They will simply sit on the fence with oil back near $100 barrel," said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity markets strategy for BNP Paribas. A new golden age for fossil fuels? Huh? Page 3 of 21 Generated on July 24, 2011 at 3:22pm EDT The Oil Drum | Drumbeat: June 1, 2011 http://www.theoildrum.com/node/7988 Natural gas is cheap and clean, but hardly the answer to our energy needs. It just buys us time. Special report: If Monterrey falls, Mexico falls MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) – Mario Ramos thought it was a bad joke when he received an anonymous email at the start of this year demanding $15,000 a month to keep his industrial tubing business operating in Monterrey, Mexico's richest city and a symbol of progress in Latin America. Sitting in his air-conditioned office looking across at sparkling office blocks dotting the mountains on that morning in January, he casually deleted the email as spam. Six days later, the phone rang and a thickset voice demanded the money. Ramos panicked, hung up and drove to his in-laws' house. It was already late and he had little idea what to do. Then, just after midnight, masked gunmen burst onto his premises, set fire to one of his trucks, shot up his office windows and sprayed a nearby wall with the letter "Z" in black paint, the calling card of Mexico's feared Zetas drug cartel. "They were asking for money I could never afford," said Ramos by telephone from San Antonio, Texas, where he fled with his family the next day. "I should have taken the threat more seriously, but it was such a shock. I couldn't quite believe this could happen in Monterrey." Iraq’s Oil Export Revenue in May Increases to Most This Year Iraq, holder of the world’s fifth- largest oil reserves, exported 2.23 million barrels of oil a day in May, with record revenue this year of $7.4 billion, said Falah al-Amri, chairman of the State Oil Marketing Organization. Iraq sold crude at an average price of $108 a barrel last month, he said today in a telephone interview from Baghdad. Libya's oil chief Ghanem defects, now in Rome ROME (Reuters) - Libya's National Oil Corp head Shokri Ghanem said on Wednesday he had defected from Muammar Gaddafi's government but had not yet decided whether to join anti-Gaddafi rebels. Speaking at a news conference in Rome organised by the Libyan ambassador, who has also defected, Ghanem said he had left his job because of the "unbearable" violence in Libya. Petrol shortage continues in Sharjah Page 4 of 21 Generated on July 24, 2011 at 3:22pm EDT The Oil Drum | Drumbeat: June 1, 2011 http://www.theoildrum.com/node/7988 SHARJAH — Petrol shortage in some Sharjah fuel stations continued to worry motorists on Tuesday even as they sought an immediate solution to the problem. Mohammed Ammar, who went to Enoc station in Muliha Road around 1pm on Monday, was told that no fuel was available. “My Tank is empty and I can’t drive around searching for a gas station. What should I do, and where should I go?” He asked. FACTBOX-Key political risks to watch in Zambia LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia, Africa's top copper producer, has enjoyed peace and stability compared with many countries in southern Africa but an election this year and a possible energy crisis is clouding its immediate outlook.